IMAGINE HEAVEN by John Burke

www.GatewayChurch.com 1  

Book Discussion Group Questions

Discussion Guide 1 – Chapters 1-3

1. Are you intrigued, or conflicted, by reports of

near death experiences and why?

2. Do you have any stories about near death

experiences personally or from family and

friends? Describe the experience.

3. How important to you is this question of the

afterlife and what it might be like?

4. What makes you skeptical about the

afterlife?

5. What stood out to you about the stories (or core elements) of people

who had near death experiences in these chapters?

Discussion Guide 2 – Chapters 4-7

1. What stood out to you from the reading?

2. Would you say you are primarily a physical being that happens to have a

spiritual soul, or you are primarily a spiritual soul that happens to have a

physical body, or something else?

3. How much of your life is defined by God’s perspective of your personal

identity and purpose for life?

4. How would being in heaven where there is perfect communication, a

perfect body, and perfect love be different from your experience in life

right now?

IMAGINE HEAVEN by John Burke

www.GatewayChurch.com 2  

Discussion Guide 3 – Chapters 8-9

1. What stood out to you, or grabbed your attention, from the reading?

2. Have you imagined heaven as similar or different from life on earth? In

what ways?

3. What is something you enjoy about nature, or an activity you do in

nature, that might be better in heaven? How?

4. How does the idea of other dimensions beyond time, space, and

distance in heaven affect your thinking?

Discussion Guide 4 – Chapters 10-13

1. Were there any particular points, or stories, that grabbed your attention

from the reading? Why?

2. Encountering a personal “being of light” is consistently reported among

those who have had near death experiences, even those from various

cultural and religious backgrounds. How is this significant to you in

considering heaven?

3. If loving relationship motivates God what implications does this have for

heaven?

4. If there is a moral law evident in every culture and religion how can we

expect God to deal with our problem of not fulfilling this moral law?

5. If Jesus is the “being” of light, life, and love that many people who have

near death experiences are encountering in heaven what would it be

like for you to personally meet him?

IMAGINE HEAVEN by John Burke

www.GatewayChurch.com 3  

Discussion Guide 5 – Chapters 14-17

1. What stood out to you from the reading?

2. What purpose can there be in suffering in our present lives only to have

it removed from us in heaven?

3. Some people would like to ‘see’ God physically to make it easier to

believe in God. If spiritual beings can physically see God then how can

we explain how some have chosen to love God, angels, while others

have rejected him, demons?

4. People who experience hell in their near death experience

communicate feelings of shame, fear, or lack of love. How is this similar

or different to what you might imagine about being in hell?

5. Those who have near death experiences speak of having a “life review”

in front of God and feeling simultaneously a sense of judgment but also

an accepting love. What would this experience be like for you?

Discussion Guide 6 – Chapters 18-21

1. What new insights, or perspective, did you gain from the reading?

2. If there is a book in heaven that record’s our life how confident or

concerned are you about the details being written about you?

3. Do you anticipate receiving any rewards in heaven for what you have

done with your life? Why?

4. Is there anything that would keep you from putting your faith in Jesus

and the promise of life with God in the present and a future in heaven?

5. How has your imagination of heaven changed as a result of reading the

book and having these discussions?